Tapmania.org vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tapmania.org
Experience a classic rhythm game that simulates dancing with a vast library of downloadable songs and steps. Play anywhere, anytime, with hundreds of thousands of hours of content available for free.
- DDR simulator
- StepMania file support
- Hundreds of thousands of songs
- Downloadable content
- Play on the go
- Rhythm game
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Classic simulator of DDR supporting StepMania formatted files which means hundreds of thousands hours worth of steps/songs are available to download and play from the internet for free. Enjoy this original iOS rhythm game at home or on the go!
ArcEmu
Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.
- Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
- Multiplayer support
- Cheat codes
- Customizable on-screen controls
- Save State sharing
- iCloud support
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ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search Apple Watch Compatibility - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tapmania.org at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. Tapmania.org also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.5). ArcEmu's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (95% vs 57%). On ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Tapmania.org is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. Tapmania.org sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Tapmania.org's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Tapmania.org ships an update every 2 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tapmania.org | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (86 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 57.5% of reviews | 94.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 86 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 192 MB | 172 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GetSchwifty Ltd. | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Tapmania.org
ArcEmu
User reviews
Tapmania.org
From 86 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great Stepmania/DDR port
- 🎮 Customizable controls
- 🎵 Phenomenal file support
- 🕹️ Gamepad support
- 🚀 Fast loading
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 😠 Ads are intrusive
- 📉 Unplayable without improvements
- 👎 Horrible execution
- 🐌 Laggy performance
ArcEmu
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fully functional
- 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
- 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
- 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
- 👍 Customizable controls and layout
Room to improve
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
- 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
- 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
- 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch
Bugs and requests
Tapmania.org
Reported bugs
55 issues- Crashes when paying to remove ads
- Ads cannot be closed
- Ads get stuck
- URL not working
- Crashes when using IP address to add songs
Show 50 moreShow fewer
- Noteskins don't work
- Themes not loading on iPad
- Touch points are off
- Arrow keys are too small
- Up arrow registers as down
- One arrow not working
- Tapping one arrow registers as another
- Ads appear every time you lose
- Game is laggy
- Overuses battery
- Scraps offset/sync of a song
- Turns off iPad when playing a round
- Holding a receptor triggers a mine input
- Custom songs import incorrectly
- Zip file import causes crash
- Offset adjustment is weird
- Song previews overlap or skip
- Tapping a lane causes next note to disappear
- Shock notes not implemented
- App causes phone to heat up
- Error when uploading zip files
- Cannot post /filepost error
- Game crashes on startup after zip import
- Game froze on fail screen
- Website for adding songs doesn't work
- App glitches after song and ad
- Screen size not supported for full screen
- Judgements are very unstable
- Song packs won't upload
- Connection was reset when uploading OGG files
- Game won't launch after adding a song
- Won't let me add new songs anymore
- Game freezes on fail screen
- Website doesn't work for song management
- App glitches up often after completing a song and viewing an advertisement
- Timing is totally wrong
- Game will often crash when adjusting scroll speed
- Songs can end up being chopped and inconsistent
- Sudden lag and choppiness
- Game starts being buggy after a few songs
- Forced restarts of the game are frequently needed
- File manager broken
- Connection was reset when uploading files
- Doesn't properly work on older phones
- Not forgiving enough of mistakes
- File upload crashes game and browser
- Link to add simfiles doesn't work
- Won't accept ogg files
- Judgement is stranger than before
- Tap judgment is semi-automatic
Requested features
27 requests- Make arrow keys bigger
- Offer ad-free option
- Make fail settings more forgiving
- Add more songs
- Support for dongle DDR pads
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- Horizontal feature
- Custom controller binds
- Ability to play horizontally
- Add more song
- Manage simfiles through Files app
- Pause button
- No-fail mode
- Support for keyboard
- Landscape option
- Down scroll option
- Announcer setting
- Doubles support
- .ssc support
- Folder division for songs
- Auto mode for score study
- Hand clap function
- Support for PS4 controllers
- Auto play function
- Support for Japanese language
- Change button location
- Reverse scroll preset
- GameCenter integration
ArcEmu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Occasional crashes
- Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
- Save data not transferring properly between devices
Requested features
6 requests- Add cheat/GameShark support
- Improve volume controls
- Implement fast forward/slow motion options
- Allow multiple save slots per game
- Improve Game Boy Color support
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Tapmania.org
- Remove Ads$1.99
ArcEmu
No in-app purchases
